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Three Padres pitchers out of options

The signing of free agent starting pitcher Jon Garland last week impacts the San Diego futures of two and possibly three other pitchers.

Starter Tim Stauffer, starter-reliever Sean Gallagher and reliever Edward Mujica are all out of options – meaning they must either make the Padres Opening Day roster, be traded or be released by the end of spring training.

Before the acquisition of Garland, all three right-handers appeared to have a strong shot at being with the Padres on Opening Day. Now at least one will be gone.

Stauffer, 27, the fourth overall player taken in the 2003 draft, was 4-7 with a 3.58 ERA in 14 starts for the Padres last season. Before Garland, he was expected to compete for the No. 5 spot in the rotation. Pending some unforeseen problem in spring training, the rotation now seems to be set – Garland, Chris Young, Kevin Correia, Mat Latos and Clayton Richard.

Aside from a rehab assignment with Double-A San Antonio at the start of last season, Stauffer has been a starter throughout his professional career.

Gallagher, 24, was one of three pitchers acquired last summer from Oakland in exchange for outfielder Scott Hairston. After spending almost half the season rehabbing a strained left knee, he joined the Padres in September and was 2-0 and didn’t allow a run over 5 1/3 innings of relief.

Although primarily a starter throughout his professional career, Gallagher is also seen as a possibly being a long man in the bullpen and a spot starter.

Mujica, 25, made 63 appearances out of the Padres bullpen last season plus four starts – his first starting assignments since Single-A in 2004 – and had a 3-5 record with a 3.94 ERA over 93 2/3 innings.

As a reliever, Mujica, who was purchased from Cleveland just before Opening Day last season, had a 3.51 ERA and worked both long and setup relief.

But Gallagher, Mujica, Aaron Poreda, Ryan Webb, Greg Burke and Adam Russell could all be competing for three positions this season as the Padres are expected to reduce their bullpen from eight to seven relievers.